Hey guys. Thanks for taking the time to do this sort of thing. I wanted to ask about the recording process and the use of gear/plugins during that early stages of a record.
I recently ran some writing/recording sessions where, even though I don’t work with any outboard gear/boards, I limited myself to just using tape emulation and the SSL 4000 channel strip plugins to keep the session and creativity going while also being able to shape sounds.
What was it like for this record/other records you and Jack worked on (Taylor Swift, Lana, 1975). During the actual writing/recording stage, do you guys mostly rely on board EQ/comp so get things fitting nicely straight away but keeping things moving swiftly, and then once the session is almost over do you go back and tweak things to clean up the stems? Some insight into this part of the process would be helpful.
Thanks,
Bogdan
Hey Bogdan!
That sounds smart - keeping a session flow and creativity going is #1 and since some tape + an SSL channel worked for so many records we loved made in the 70s/80s, it can work today!
We work entirely in the box from day 1, so all the balances are in there rather than on the board - but we’re sometimes using the board EQ/comp as part of the sound we’re capturing (before Pro Tools).
Typical vocal chain includes a bit of compression (normally a CL1b). Beyond eq and compression we also love using guitar pedals, tape delays - anything that can sound a bit analog and add a more human element to the recording is really exciting. I’m a big fan of distortion, things like the Altec mixers or SansAmp that can add some grit and drive. This would all get printed to Pro Tools as audio.
Then we’d normally use plugins for reverb/eq/comp etc. We’re extremely lucky that we get to work with some of the best players and singers on the planet so I find we need minimal processing - you can see in Jack’s video on Sabrina’s record, there are very few plugins. That said yes, we’ll often go back and tweak/add after the session - its sort of an ongoing process of adjusting to get things to feel right - that’s why working in the box from day 1 is the most sensible option for us. Worth mentioning that the level of processing varies a lot for different records, some want to sound more processed/compressed etc, others more live and open - so there’s no hard-and-fast rule.
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